Away
by FannieForever15
Summary: Annie is struggling to recover from her Games, and after having a nightmare, she decides she has to go away. "He loved times like this when he could just admire her gentle features. She looked so calm when she slept. He could only hope that her mind was as calm as her expression lead on." Takes place before Hunger Games.


This is just one of those really bad days.

Ever since Annie woke up this morning, she's been crying. When she's not crying, she's just silent and staring off into space. The silence is almost worse than the crying. It scares Finnick when she stares at nothing with a blank look. He wonders what exactly goes through her mind when she rocks back and forth, her face void of emotion. He's doing his best to comfort her, but nothing seems to really work; sometimes it takes a while to get through to her.

As the day passes, she starts to get exhausted from all the sobbing and thinking and remembering. There's nothing she wants more than to rest, so Finnick finally got her to sit down on the couch and relax. He wrapped her up in a blanket, and they sat together in each other's arms to watch a movie. Annie seemed okay for a little while. She seemed to be at peace. He could tell she was still on edge, though, by the way she looked at him and by the look in her eyes, but, thankfully, she started to doze off after a while. Finnick encouraged her to just close her eyes; he was glad she'd be getting some rest from everything.

Once she had fallen asleep, he picked up the television remote and surfed through the channels, looking down at her every so often. He loved times like this when he could just admire her gentle features. She looked so calm when she slept. He could only hope that her mind was as calm as her expression lead on. He lifted a hand to her face and traced his index finger around her lips, her eyes, her cute little nose.

His hand stilled when her eyes flashed open, widening in what looked like terror.

Before he could say anything, ask her what was wrong or tell her she was safe, Annie pushed herself up from the couch and fled the room, going toward the stair case.

Finnick rubs a hand over his face with a sigh. Another nightmare, he guesses. Would she ever catch a break? It didn't seem like it, to either of them. He keeps telling her it gets easier, but she's not so sure. He gets up and follows her out of the room and up the stairs, asking her if she's alright. He gets a nod from her as an answer, but he doesn't believe her. Not for one second. Not with the look in her eyes when she woke up.

"Where are we going, Love?" he asks curiously as she walks toward one of the spare bedrooms that she uses as a storage room.

Without looking at him, Annie opens the door and goes in. "Away," she responds in a quiet voice. He nods and watches her as she sorts through her things.

"Can I help you find something?"

He waits, but no reply comes, but before long, she finds what she was looking for: an aqua blue and white polka-dotted suitcase. She pulls the handle out and sets it down on its wheels, pulling it toward the door.

"Annie? What do you need that for? Where are you going?" he asks confusedly, a bit flustered and a little a bit unnerved. Why does she want to leave? Did he do something wrong? He feels like he _must've_ done something wrong. "Would you like me to take you somewhere?" he offers. "We can go to the beach if you'd like, maybe lay out in the sand. Or… we could take a trip to town for an ice cream." Again, no response comes, but Finnick keeps talking to her. His voice will get through to her eventually. It always does. He's her Finnick. Just like _she's_ his _Annie_. "What are you leaving for? Where are you going?" he asks again. He knows she's not mentally or emotionally ready to leave him and the safe confines of her house and go anywhere alone, but, honestly, it would feel wrong to him to hold her prisoner in her own home.

"Away," she says again, not quite meeting his eyes with hers. "I can't stay here."

"Of course you can stay, Annie. No one's going to harm you here. I'll make sure of it." As if not hearing his reassurances, she gently pushes by him, still pulling along her suitcase, and she goes into her room. He suddenly remembers the saying that you have to 'pick your battles', and he realizes it's not worth arguing with her about this. So, he decides to let her pack whatever she feels as if she needs to pack, and he follows her into her bedroom. He makes himself comfortable on her bed and watches her.

Annie walks around her room, packing random things away into her bag. "Finnick? Would you like to come with me?" she says in her soft voice, zipping all of her things inside of the suitcase and looking up at him.

"May I ask where you're going?"

"Your house," she responds as if it were just that simple. "I can't stay here. I like Finnick's house. It's… it's home."

He just stares at her for a few moments, unblinking, then he nods a few times. "Sure. Sure, I'll go with you. How about you go downstairs and relax some more while I pack for you?"

She shakes her head and sits next to him on the bed. "I don't like it here, Finnick. It's too… empty here."

"What do you mean? We had all of your things moved here from your old house, remember? It's all here."

She shakes her head again. "No. It's empty. There's no love here, no memories. _Your_ house has love and memories. I like it there."

He nods thoughtfully, reaching over and running a hand through her hair. "You're right," he agrees with a grin. "I like it there, too."

"If I move to your house, no one can get me. No one can take me away anymore," she says, her voice sad and her expression blank as her once innocent mind tries to push away her now tainted thoughts.

He embraces her tightly, feeling like he can keep her safe by just holding her in his arms. She feels the same way; in Finnick's arms, nothing bad can ever happen to her. "I'll protect you, Love. I won't let anyone hurt you."

"I know." Annie beams, looking at him, and he returns the joyful expression. "I think I'm going to go finish that movie..." she says after reconsidering her suggestion to go relax, wanting to be wrapped in the warm blanket again.

Finnick chuckles and nods. "Of course. Come on, let's go get you comfy." He takes her hand and leads her downstairs before settling her down on the couch and covering her up with the blanket. When he's sure she's comfortable, he goes back to her room and packs her clothes into the suitcase, ready to let her stay at his house for as long as she needs, or wants, to. There's nothing more he wants than for her to feel safe and loved and at home, and if moving in with him gives her those feelings, then so be it.


End file.
